Custom Notebook Journal DIY

I came across this video on YouTube and it is such a great idea! I'm going to make a custom notebook/journal when I wake up! Thanks #sharonbemakinstuff 

http://youtu.be/8edVStWYJIg

I can't wait to show off my results. I have some pretty bitchin' scrapbook paper that I've been waiting to use.

Etsy Team Captain!

I created an Etsy team this morning for Etsy members in Orange County, CA. It's called Handmade & Vintage Orange County, CA
https://www.etsy.com/teams/25087/handmade-vintage-orange-county-ca

Now I just have to wait for some team members!

Learning to sew, slowly but surely

I finished this clutch purse today. I'm super proud of it! I love sewing little clutch bags and throw pillows, because they are fun to make, and those are the only two things I've learned how to sew. Aside from hemming pants, and patching up holes. I still don't get clothing patterns and I can't fathom how people sew buttons onto things with a sewing machine, but I'll learn eventually. Anyways, here's my clutch bag I finished today. I sewed the clutch purse on my sewing machine, and the button closure is hand-sewn. 

It has a dark blue sateen interior lining but I didn't take a picture of it. 

July 5th 2015

Quick update. 

The silicone ii molds I made didn't break after all, but it was difficult to remove my castings because the molds are not at all flexible. The molds will probably be good for a few more uses, but next time I make my own molds I will be sure to use silicone i (plus cornstarch and a little bit of baby oil). It is the silicone i that creates flexible and reusable molds. 

I made myself a pair of pink flower earrings and a pink skull ring with my resin castings last night...

  

The exact shade of pink is somewhere between the two colors shown in the photos above.

My new favorite earrings! 

But this is still my favorite ring:

I have quite a few of these in my Etsy shop. They're really nice looking rings and they're also gender neutral. 

Resin Castings

Dollar store ice cube tray, win! Super flexible and cleans up nice. 

I haven't pulled my resin casts from the silicone molds I made yet, they're just as cured as the other resin pieces, still semi flexible, and I'm probably going to have to cut them out of the molds. That sucks but it is what it is 😏 

 

I'll make sure to buy the right silicone next time. If by chance these molds are not destroyed in the process, I'll let you know. I still wouldn't use this silicone again though.

I've casted my resin into my molds. I thought I had less resin, but apparently I had more than I thought (and now I'm all out of resin). I used about an ounce total. So I casted into more molds than I thought I could, as well as a butterfly ice cube tray from the dollar store. We'll see how that works out soon. 72 hours longer until the curing of the resin, plus the amount of time it takes me to file everything down to it's proper shape and form....most resin castings will come out fine, but in the molds where I over poured, I'll need to file those down....

It all looks very messy at this point, but remember, I have yet to file my cured resin castings down. Excited is an understatement. Earrings, rings, mixed media art pieces, the possibilities are quite endless.

Can't wait to show it all off!

Okay, so I've made some molds here, which have been curing for a couple of weeks. I have no doubt I can cast my resin in here, but I'm not so sure that these molds will be reusable, as they are not very flexible. The method I used was cornstarch and silicone ii, I covered my hands with a small amount of Vaseline to prevent the silicone + cornstarch mix from sticking, and I used an old credit card to fold it all over again and again until I could work with it by hand. At which point, I applied the Vaseline to my hands. I did not add anything else to this mixture, and my molds cured, but I can see they are not flexible. Before pressing the pieces I wished to make molds of into my putty mixture, I coated them with baby oil. Here are the molds: 

 

I will be using my favorite resin, which I prefer for it's 1:1 ratio and odorlessness... 

 

I will be mixing this acrylic paint called "Painted Desert", which is a soft pink shade, into my resin prior to casting. 

My resin should cure in 72 hours, and then I will show off the results here. Pray for my silicone molds ;)